The Songhua River entered a long season when it is closed to fishing on May 16 -- in order to protect aquatic species and contribute to the sustainable development of the fishery industry.

Officials said the fishing ban this year was extended to bring all the branches, reservoirs and lakes along the Sancha Hekou to the Tongjiang section of Songhua River under the regulations and prolong the prohibition period from previous 47 days to 77 days.

Zhang Xuedong, vice director of the Fisheries Administration of the Heilongjiang Provincial Agricultural and Rural Affairs Bureau, explained that the climate change in Heilongjiang province in recent years had caused some of the fish's spawning periods to be advanced and others to be delayed.

The 1,972 kilometer-long Songhua River has a drainage area of 557,200 sq km, covering Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning in Northeast China and Inner Mongolia autonomous region in northern China.

The river is home to 78 species of fish, including internationally endangered species – the acipenser schrenckii and huso dauricus -- found only in the Heilong River Basin and Songhua River Basin. They have been dubbed "water pandas" as there are fewer of them than there are giant pandas left in the world.

Fishing boats are locked up along the Songhua River bank, after the closing of the fishing season came into effect on March 16. [Photo/chinanews.com]

A breathtaking sunset graces the landscape by the banks of the Songhua River. [Photo/chinanews.com]